- Date
- March 26, 1989, 12:33 local (20:33 UTC)
- Place
- Bear Valley, CA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N84MHAerospatiale AS-355-F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 9, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890326004639A
- Case key
- 26218
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Improper in-flight planning/decision by the pilot, which resulted in a loss of aircraft control during a slow speed, downwind approach to a high altitude stolport. Contributing factors were: high density altitude, tailwind, improper weather evaluation by the pilot, snow covered terrain, whiteout conditions before touchdown, and the snowbank.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The emerg med svc (ems/medivac) flt departed modesto hospital to transport a patient from Bear Valley, CA. The pilot made an apch to the Bear Valley stolport from the south-southwest. Elev of the stolport was 7073'. Drg the apch at slow speed, the helicopter began to yaw to the left. The plt applied rgt pedal, but to no avail. He lowered the nose to begin a go-around, but the yaw began to accelerate. The plt then shut down both engs & made an autorotation. Just beforelanding, loose snow was blown up & whiteout conditions occurred. Drg touchdown, the helicopter pitched forward into a snowbank & was damaged. The plt rprtd the wind was light & variable. A sheriff's deputy rprtd the wind was from the south/southwest at 5 to 10 KTS. The investgation revealed no evidence of a tail rotor drive malfunction or failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N84MH
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale AS-355-F
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 5173
- Airframe hours
- 2,385
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20F, 250 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Care, Inc, doing business as Mediflight
- Registered owner
- Memorial Hospitals Ass.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · February 22, 1989 · 37 hours before
- Departed
- Modesto, CA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- 0Q0 · Bear Valley Stolport
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight engineer, Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 4,700 total · 120 in this make and model · 60 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.